1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the insect trap art and more particularly to the traps utilized to retain insects therein for further examination to determine, for example, the types of insects that are in a specific geographical location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Insect traps of various kinds and configurations have been widely used to determine the particular types of insects that are in a given geographical area at a particular time. In some prior art insect traps, such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) insect traps which are operated by a 6 volt battery electrical supply, the traps are operated at night from dusk to dawn. The user of these traps must visit the traps on at regular intervals to replace the batteries and retrieve the insects captured by the trap. However, if the battery power is lost between the visits, or there is some other planned shutdown, the insects in the traps may escape through the trap entrance.
In order to overcome the deficiencies of such CDC traps, there has heretofore been utilized a battery powered insect trap having a battery powered light source mounted above the trap body which, for example, may be a section of an acrylic tube. A fan is mounted in the trap body in close proximity to the top of the trap body to blow ambient air downwardly through the trap body thereby creating a low pressure area adjacent the top of the trap body. As the light attracts insects to the area in the vicinity of the top of the trap body, the insects are caught in the downwardly flowing air generated by the fan and are moved axially downwardly towards the bottom of the trap body. A mesh catch bag is connected to the bottom of the trap body and the downwardly flowing air, which carries the insects therein that have been attracted by the light source, flows out of the mesh bag and the insects are contained in the mesh bag.
In order to prevent the escape of the insects out of the top of the trap body in the event the fan becomes inoperable due to loss of battery power or otherwise, these prior insect traps were provided with a bridge extending diametrically across the inside of the trap body and secured by glue to the inside surface of the trap body at the bottom thereof. A flexible flapper, which often was a thin sheet of mylar film, was secured to the bridge and the flexible flapper had a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the inside of the tap body. While the fan was operating and blowing air down the trap body, the flexible flapper bends about the bridge and the peripheral edges of the flexible flapper are moved out of contact with the inside surface of the trap body to allow the air flow and the insects contained therein to flow into the mesh bag. When the fan was not operating the flexible flapper would return to the condition where the peripheral edges were in contact with the inside surface of the trap body, thereby preventing the insects from moving upwardly in the trap body and escaping from the top thereof.
In some applications, however, it was found that insects could push their way past the flexible flapper at the peripheral edge on the inside surface of the trap body and thus migrate up the trap body and escape from the top. Similarly, because of manufacturing tolerances or distortion of the flexible flapper over time it was found that in some applications there was not a perfect engagement of the peripheral edge of the flexible flapper with the inside surface of the trap body thereby providing a path to allow the insects to escape. Further, it has been found that the width of the bridge often prevented full contact of the peripheral edge of the flexible flapper with the inside surface of the trap body.
Since the flexible flapper was permanently affixed to the bridge and the bridge was permanently secured to the trap body, if there were to be damage to the flexible flapper or the bridge, the entire trap body required replacement.
Thus, there has long been a need for an insect trap in which the trapped insects are more substantially prevented from escaping from the trap once contained within the trap. Also, it has long been desired that the damage to a small portion of the components of the trap did not require replacement of a major portion of the trap.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved insect trap.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved insect trap in which once an insect is trapped therein, the opportunities for escape of the insect from the trap are substantially reduced.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved insect trap in which damage to small portion of the overall components of the trap does not require replacement of the entire trap.